A source told Press Gazette: “The thought of [the strike] amongst the journalists is that it’s good someone has dug their heels in and has decided to put up a fight.”

Press Gazette understands that travel and accommodation costs have been offered for staff providing strike cover.

The company has said that staff drafted in to cover for striking journalists will not be working out of the south London office.

Press Gazette understands that the expectation from the Newsquest memo was that managers and editors receiving it would put forward names to provide the cover.

The source said: “I don’t think it’s fair for editors to be put in the position of not only asking if someone wants to go but actually being told to find someone to go.

“I think regardless of the ethics of asking if someone wants to break a legally constituted strike, there’s the ethics of instructing someone.

“And personally I think there’s a possibility that it could accelerate action throughout the group and I don’t think that’s been thought through.

“We are under pressure in newsrooms as it is and this will further add to that pressure.”

Cover staff are being sought from across Newsquest’s portfolio of daily titles, including the Swindon Advertiser, Oxford Mail and Brighton Argus.

The titles and websites affected by the strike include the Croydon, Epsom, Sutton, Wandsworth and Wimbledon Guardians, the Richmond & Twickenham Times, the Surrey Comet and the News Shopper in Bexley, Bromley, Greenwich and Lewisham.

A Newsquest spokesperson said: “We have a contingency plan in place that will ensure our south London publishing plans are not disrupted by any potential industrial action.

“It will be disappointing if the NUJ choose to go ahead with any action given in particular that the restructuring of this business is precisely to ensure that there is a future for local journalism in these titles.”

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This has to be some sort of joke. Firstly, what do journalists in Oxford and Swindon know about what’s going on in South London? Secondly, there is moral issue here, I’m sure these already stretched daily teams wouldn’t want to undermine their colleagues. Thirdly, the M.D. and Chief Exec still refuse to get round the table to resolve this in a mature and rational fashion despite pressure from MP’s.